The 10 Year Retail Transformation

There is no doubt in the minds of retail businesses that retail will change dramatically over the next 10 years.

The transformation is set to change how stores are laid out, will include artificial intelligence in the buying experience, and customer personalisation is getting even more personalised through technology.

The research into customer wants and behaviours is clear. Customers want multiple buying options, a seamless shopping experience and to use online and mobile application shopping with ease.

10 years is a long time away but it is evident that technological change within the retail is already having such an impact on the customer experience.

The growth in popularity of mobile and IoT devices, evolving consumer behaviours, and the influence of online e-commerce giants have completely changed the way customers shop online, especially throughout the generations of shoppers.

As reports have demonstrated over the last three years, customers want:

1. The ability the buy online and return to the store - or buy in-store and have items shipped to their homes
2. Mobile/tablet functionality, visibility into store inventories, and transparency
3. Provide a personalised experience on the shop floor including support from a member of staff 
4. A personalised experience which is catered for the customer's desires and needs

As most if not all engagement within retail is dominated by technology of some kind.

One way in which retailers can ensure that they are set up to provide a leading service to their customers is to ensure that technology from hardware to applications are performing as they should.

At KFP we recommend regular site surveys and visits to customer sites to perform checks and updates on technology usability, durability and finally, quality control. We can help retailers with quality control over their entire digital deployments across their entire estate and can look to test your devices within our facility in order to reduce lower risk of downtime, save money, improve customer retention and conversion rates in-store.

Customer loyalty goes a long way in retail. Products, prices, and reputation are not the only things to consider when generating and maintaining customer loyalty. Retailers must now become more customer-focused and earn that loyalty through digital relationships and increased personalisation. The most successful brands are committing to meet individual customer needs without hesitation. They use personal data to deliver exactly what the customer needs and operate on the belief they are serving their best interests.

A great store presentation or strong digital presence alone is no longer enough to succeed. Shoppers expect stores, websites, mobile apps, and all interactions to have a consistent look and feel. They want the same shopping experience no matter how, where, and when they interact with a retailer.

Your retail customers have incredibly high expectations for technology. They demand that websites load quickly, orders are processed instantly, and apps operate without error. They have little patience for EPOS failure, PED downtime and increased waiting times, a flawless service is a clear necessity.

One way in which KFP support their retail customers is to predetermine and plan ahead of any areas of technological weakness. It’s our goal to support internal IT teams and act as an extension to their entire European retail business.

At KFP, we work with our full range of partners and leading manufacturers to provide only the very best retail technology for our customers. Investing in an EPOS refresh or complete network infrastructure install requires investment, and we believe that our retail customers should never simply invest in retail technology for the sake of it however they can work with us to plan the very best technology that provides their customers with a high-quality shopping experience.

Technology must always enable a more efficient shopping process for your customers. 87% of online shoppers said they would abandon their cart during a checkout process if it was too long or complicated. Slow-loading websites with lots of ads and awkward user experiences are unacceptable to your customers.

Retailers should maximise the uptime, performance and longevity of their retail technology by working with KFP. In a busy and competitive retail world, we are that support partner that goes above and beyond for every one of our customers.